So. Here I am after 5-6 months to give you a chapter with a piece of word vomit as a fight scene. I tried, okay? I can't write fight scenes to save my life but here I wrote one anyway. For you guys. I was gonna upload this at the same time as chap 4 of Change! but then I realized I wouldn't be able to finish it in time because I'm trash.

You guys can probably guess why this took so long. Anyways, tell me what I did wrong with the fighting and shit and maybe leave some tips on how to get better at it?

"Alright, you little maggots, listen up!"

Maki flinched at the loud voice that boomed through the courtyard the next day. Rin wanted to make a face at the teacher for that but Maki stepped on her foot, making Rin shut up in an instant.

"All of you will be battling against one another here in this very place."

This elicited many gasps from the different students that made up the special class of Otonokizaka Academy.

"The purpose of this small activity is to test if all of you are ready for this year's Proelio Royale. As most of you know, Otonokizaka has this custom of sending its strongest students to compete in the Royale, representing the school as a whole. Since this year it's a duo competition, all of you will be fighting in pairs, so find your partners now! Remember to find someone who is either compatible with you or your magic!" Their homeroom teacher yelled. "If you can find someone who is both, much better!"

There was a commotion in the courtyard as everybody was running around, shouting things like "hey, let's be partners!" or "you don't have a partner, right?"

Maki, wanting to avoid the ruckus, inched closer to Hanayo and Rin. As Maki approached, Rin winked at her and ran off to find a partner.

Hanayo watched as Rin dashed off to who knows where. Maki watched, too, as Rin bumped into a very familiar, grumpy-looking raven-haired senior. Nico shouted something at Rin, most probably asking for an apology, and Rin showing her the 'fuck off' face. This, of course, angers our little senior.

"I'M SCREWED!" They heard Rin scream as Nico chased her down, hands aglow with fireballs, one of the basic spells taught in Otonokizaka. However, Nico can make a mean fireball.

Maki and Hanayo sweat dropped.

Whelp. Rin won't be finding a partner anytime soon. Realization dawned on Maki. I won't either. I don't know anybody else in this damn class except for Rin and Hanayo. Rin's gone so...that leaves...

Maki looked to her left, where Hanayo was watching a bird feeding its young.

Hanayo.

She had no choice but to ask Hanayo to be her partner for the duels. In that instant, Maki understood what Rin meant with that wink.

That sly son of a...

Maki sighed and weighed the options.

Ask Hanayo and be done with it.

Find someone else.

Maki was too embarrassed to ask Hanayo so the alternative would be to find someone else to be her partner. However, she never really got close to anyone in their class besides Hanayo and Rin. That, and the only person who's really compatible with her was Hanayo.

Shit. I curse all the times we spent practicing together. Maki just realized what she had thought. No, wait, scratch that. I'm too head over heels for her to regret anything. Why the hell am I such a dork when I'm with her?

Maki scratched the side of her neck roughly, pondering over what to do. Hanayo turned to her, and saw that her neck was getting pretty red.

"Maki-chan! Your neck!"

Maki stopped scratching. "My neck?"

"Yes, your neck! Have you been scratching again?" Hanayo inched closer to examine Maki's neck.

Oh god, she's too damn close!

Maki felt her head spin, face flushing red. Hanayo noticed the increase in Maki's body temperature as well, pulling away and taking a look at Maki's face.

Maki thought that was the end of it, but was proven wrong when Hanayo pressed her forehead against Maki's.

"Maki-chan, your forehead is warm. Maybe you should go to the infirmary again."

Maki immediately jumped back and hit a fellow student. Hanayo gasped as she saw who Maki bumped into.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, Nishikino!" Bellowed Shiga Hitomi, a member of the disciplining committee, who hates Maki's guts because of the kinds of antics she helps pull along with the school troublemakers.

Shit. Of all the people I could have bumped into, it just had to be Shiga. I can't piss her off, or it's a definite showdown with Umi. Umi's too damn scary to fight with. Not to mention that she's really strong, especially when paired up with Kotori.

"Alright, alright, I'll watch where I'm going next time."

Somehow, those words seemed to anger Shiga even more. "What the hell? Why the fuck do you act so high and mighty, like you're superior to everyone else?!"

Maki massaged the bridge of her nose, clearly not in the mood for this. "Look here, Shiga. I bumped into you. Honest mistake. Now, if you could please kindly let go of what just happened, that would be nice."

"Okay, Nishikino, you fucking asked for this." Shiga shouted and lunged forward, fist ablaze with fire magic. Maki barely managed to dodge it, sidestepping to avoid the blow.

Holy shit. If that landed on me, I would have suffered second-degree burns or something. And then I'd make Hanayo worry all over aga- Wait, why am I thinking about this during an about-to-be fight?

Shiga snapped Maki out of her thoughts once again by throwing a fireball in her direction. She sidestepped once again, this time throwing in a gale spell to momentarily knock Shiga over. The spell served its purpose, knocking over Shiga and gave Maki some time to regain her bearings and think of a course of action.

Shiga Hitomi is known for being an expert in fire magic, as well as with a sword. Her sword skills might even be on par with Rin's. I can't even beat Rin without using Shadow Break so this might pose quite a problem. I might use it soon and, damn, I'm going to have to face the consequences soon.

Maki was, once again, snapped out of her thoughts by Shiga swinging one of those metal training swords at her. Though wooden swords are safer and lighter, metal swords help get the trainee used to the weight of most swords while fighting. That and gives a more battle-y feel to it. Like the regular wooden training swords, those can't inflict wounds to draw blood, but they can leave nasty bruises and red marks on the skin. Maki wondered when Shiga had the time to grab one of those things, but pushed away those thoughts for later. She sidestepped, but Shiga already predicted it, changing directions of her swing quickly.

Barely managing to dodge it, Maki decided to go with the flow and see where it takes her. Maki lured Shiga in with a couple of heavy rocks thrown her way, just for the purpose of taunting. Shiga went for the bait, dodging every rock and poised her sword for a strike. Maki's face turned deadly serious.

Alright. Let's go.

Maki waited for Shiga to get close enough, calculating every move and estimating the moves she's about to make. As Maki expected, this time Shiga went for a horizontal strike, making sidestepping out of the equation. Maki ducked and kicked Shiga's sword hand, effectively making her lose her grip on it. That was all Maki needed to swipe the sword from her hands. She jumped back and took an offensive stance, newly acquired sword in hand.

"You're a tough one, Nishikino." Shiga said, wiping away some sweat on her forehead. "But don't think I'll let you go that easy." She smirked and called for her partner.

Maki smiled a bit. "Two against one? That's hardly fair."

Shiga ignored her, instead charging in for another attack. She lit her fists once again with fire, coming in full force. Maki jumped up just as Shiga was about to swing. Shiga, stunned at the sudden change in tactics, gaped as Maki was pulled back down by gravity. Maki used this leverage to hit Shiga with the hilt of the training sword, stunning her and afterwards jumping back, assuming a defensive stance.

"Come on, Nishikino! If you don't hit seriously, you can't win!"

With BB pellets being shot in her direction, as well as Shiga delivering punch after punch, it was proving to be quite hard to dodge.

So her partner's a long range shooter? Her accuracy isn't as close to Umi's, but Shiga is more than enough to cover that up. Maki thought, still dodging the onslaught of attacks. Is this what that teacher meant by compatibility?

Maki let her guard down. Shiga noticed this and swung a right hook, fist ablaze with fire. It hit Maki in the stomach, making her fall on one knee.

Mother of a... I shouldn't have let my guard down!

"How's that?" Shiga smirked. Maki coughed a bit, clutching her stomach. "I'm going to have burns here for sure.."

"Maki-chan!" Hanayo shouted, running to Maki's side in a flash. Maki's eyes widened.

"Hanayo, you shouldn't be here!"

Hanayo's hands glowed with white light, holding it over Maki's stomach. Maki instantly felt relieved, all the pain being slowly healed by Hanayo's magic. Now that she didn't wince every five seconds, Maki saw that the punch had seriously burned her shirt, leaving her stomach exposed. Hearing squeals, Maki looked around and saw that an audience had gathered around them, like with her sparring session with Rin.

I can already guess why they're squealing in the first place. Maki sighed.

The teacher was also standing at the spot Hanayo had previously occupied, looking at the match with interest.

Once Hanayo was done, she stood up, offering her hand to Maki. She contemplated on taking it.

Hanayo noticed Maki's indecisiveness and giggled. "Maki-chan, let's fight together. It won't be a fair fight if there's two of them and only one of you."

With one last long look, Maki again sighed and took it, grabbing the sword she dropped when she was hit. Maki moved forward and assumed an offensive stance, glancing back at Hanayo.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Maki smirked. Hanayo smiled and nodded.

Shiga, not being one to play dirty no matter how much she hates Maki's guts, never once made the move to hit Maki while Hanayo was healing her. That, and she didn't want to hurt Hanayo anyway. Shiga beckons her partner to get ready once more, as the real battle is about to begin. The teacher noticed that both sides were partners and announced,

"Alright everyone! This'll be the first match of the day!" Their homeroom teacher smiled. "And on the field are really great fighters, excelling in both magic and combat! Be sure to take notes on how these four fight, and how they use teamwork to emerge victorious!"

"Remember, without an understanding with your partner, both of you will just get in each others' way!"

Maki and Hanayo nodded, as well as Shiga and her partner. Their homeroom teacher smiled and blew her whistle.

"Alright, then, let the match...begin!"

At the word 'begin', the onslaught of BB pellets and Shiga's fiery punches started. Maki, however, was now fully prepared for it. A magic circle appeared under her feet, glowing blue. Maki glanced back at Hanayo, and Hanayo smiled in response, a determined gaze on her face.

Maki was surprised that she could dodge all of the BB pellets, along with Hitomi's punches.

Wait, blue magic circle... A feather-light spell!

"Thanks, Hanayo!" Maki shouted over her shoulder.

Maki decided that it was time to step-up her game. With Hanayo's magical support, she quickly maneuvered around the assault and landed a kick to Shiga's side. She lurched back in pain, stopping her attacks. Maki smirked and gave a thumbs up to Hanayo, but that was all she got through when Shiga's partner charged at her, now wielding a training dagger. Maki quickly parried the attack, jumping back. Just as she jumped back, Shiga stood up, holding her side but fine for the most part.

We're not getting anywhere like this. I should at least knock one of them down so that Hanayo won't over-exert herself.

Deciding to fight fire with fire, Maki dropped the metal training sword and readied her fists. Shiga smirked and cracked her knuckles, getting into a fighting stance of her own.

"Alright Nishikino, show me what you've got!" Shiga charged in, fists covered in ice.

Ice? Looks like she's looking for more solid damage. The fire was working well though.

Maki made no move to dodge, instead taking hold of Shiga's fist. Maki then proceeded to melt the ice and send a hit straight to her face. Shiga broke away from Maki's grasp just in time to dodge it. Shiga tried to land a blow again, but Maki blocked.

It was a spectacle to behold indeed, a flurry of punches and kicks, with a few spells thrown into the mix. The small audience they had was watching in wonder as the pair's back-and-forth became a dance of punches and kicks, the aftermath of every spell flying in every which way.

Maki, being so caught up in her skirmish with Shiga, didn't realize that Hanayo was being attacked by Shiga's partner. When Maki heard Hanayo whimper, she turned around for a moment to check on said girl. Hanayo was surrounded by a wall of shadows, Shiga's partner ruthlessly sending shadow attack after another, with Hanayo desperately trying to block each and every one.

Shadow mages were one of Hanayo's weaknesses for reasons unknown to Maki. But right now, Hanayo needed Maki's help and she's going to give her help. She'd be damned if she did otherwise.

Maki turned back to Shiga with a menacing glint in her eyes, a glint that made even Shiga flinch for a split second. Eyes turning black and white, Maki threw a punch at Shiga, knocking her back a coupled of feet.

Shiga stared wide-eyed at the strength. "Holy shit, I did not expect that." Shiga then quickly looked around and saw that Maki had disappeared. "What the-?!"

A blow from behind her made Shiga twist her head to get a better view. Another blow, this time from her left, made her look to the side. A succession of punches and kicks soon followed, seemingly coming from all directions. Shiga did her best to block each and every one, but they were just too fast. Suddenly, the barrage stopped. The audience of the fight got a good look at how bruised Shiga was. Even her partner stopped her attacks on Hanayo to go and help.

They let their guard down. Time to end this.

Shiga's partner knelt down to see the damage Maki had dealt. While they were busy with that, Maki reappeared beside Hanayo, her eyes going back to normal.

"Hanayo, are you alright?" She said, whispering. Hanayo shakily nodded, taking the hand Maki offered. Maki heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Hanayo was alright.

Her face then turned deadly serious. "You still have a bit of magic in you, right?"

"It's not much..but yes."

Maki smiled. "Then that's perfect. I want you to give me a bit of an assist. Set the stage in any way you can. Remember that I'll be there when you mess up, okay?"

"You will?"

"Yeah," Maki smirked. "Teamwork, right? Go blow them away with your awesome magic!"

Hanayo lit up, smiling. "I-i'll do my best!" Maki nodded, her eyes turning black and white once more. She disappeared in a flash, leaving Hanayo alone. Glancing over to the opponent's side, Hanayo saw that Shiga's partner was almost done healing her up.

Oh no, I shouldn't let Maki-chan down! She thought, concentrating the last of her magic into this spell. I have to make this count!

Maki reappeared in a nearby tree, barely noticed, as all eyes were on Hanayo and the large gusts of wind surrounding her. Clinging tightly to a sturdy branch, Maki's eyes widened.

Don't tell me...

Hanayo released the gust of wind in the direction of Shiga and her partner. They didn't react in time and got swept away by the wind. Even Maki got swayed a bit.

Maki looked at Hanayo, who was giving her a determined smile. She smiled back and channeled her remaining magic into her whole body.

I have to make this count, I have to make this count, I have to make this count!

Using all of her remaining strength, Maki increased the weight of her body, plummeting her down. Aiming directly for the space in between them, Maki landed with an audible thud, surprising both opponents. Shiga clearly looked shocked, and while her partner was pretty good at hiding it, the look in her eyes said otherwise. Wasting no time, Maki made the final move.

A massive pillar of fire erupted out of the ground, blowing back both Shiga and her partner. The audience gaped at the sight, even their teacher getting overwhelmed by the amount of magic, and watched as Shiga did everything she could to protect both her and her partner with a wall of ice.

A back attack would have been nice, but Hanayo's completely exhausted. I need to make this count!

Sending wave after wave, Maki mercilessly destroyed the ice barrier in her way. From Maki's point, she could see Shiga looking exhausted as well from their earlier scuffle.

Just one...last..hit...!

What she hadn't noticed was that Shiga's partner had slipped away from the confines of the barrier just as Maki shattered it. Now behind Maki, Shiga's partner charged in at full force knowing that Maki was already drained. Hanayo saw this and, making a last effort to be of help, threw herself between them, getting the impact of the attack.

What came after all happened in a blur before Hanayo's eyes. Shocked faces and groans of pain were among them, but the most prevalent thing in her line of sight were violent flashes of red.

As her consciousness started to slip away, the last thing Hanayo saw was that same flash of red hit the ground.

Because, apparently, I like making Maki and Hanayo suffer. And also, abrupt point of view switch is abrupt.

Just a reminder: Maki is not OP. I repeat, Maki is not OP.